Railway journal lubricator



Nov. 7, 1939. .1. J. HENNEssY RAILWAY JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed Aug. 12, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l /J-1-jf 1U 1111i ,W

Jrmes J. /fennesy f' m) f .An/16.

NOV. 7, 1939. 1 J, HENNESSY l 2,178,891

RAILWAY JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed Aug. l2, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z-n Ven for .fa/7785 .f Hen/765g.

Patented Nov. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to lubricators for vehicle journals and particularly to the means for distributing lubricant applied to the journal.

Railway journal lubricators now in use, gen- 5 erally utilize a quantity of felt or waste material for spreading the lubricant evenly on the face of the journal. The use of such absorbent material is accompanied by certain disadvantages as the tendency of the material to glaze on its journal engaging surface or become separated from the journal, in which cases the distributorv is rendered ineiective. For this reason, lubricators using felt or waste packing should be frequently inspected and the packing replaced at intervals.

A more emcient method of lubricating journals consists in maintaining a bath or pool of oil in engagement with the surface of the journal. Previous oil bath lubricators apply relatively small pools of oil to the journal, absorbent material being relied upon to distribute the lubricant, or are of such light construction as to be relatively short-lived, or cannot readily adjust themselves to variations in the journals, or have other disadvantages.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle journal lubricator which dispenses with the necessity of using felt, waste, or other absorbent material.

Another object is to provide a non-absorbent lubricant distributor for railway vehicle journals which can readily adjust itself to the journal.

Another object is to provide a journal oil bath lubricant distributor which is more durable than previous distributors of this type.

Another obj ect is to provide a journal "oil bath lubricator having means for indicating abnormal heating of the journal.

Another object is to insure application of oil to a journal by a pump type lubricator at an earlier stage in the operation of the pump than is customary with similar devices which apply oil to a journal over a large area.

These objects and others hereafter appearing are attained substantially by the structures illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a Vertical section showing a journal box andlubricator embodying the invention, the section being taken through the center of the box and on a line paralleling the journal.

Figure 2 is a top view of the lubricant distributor.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section taken 55 on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a top view'of another form of the lubricant distributor.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a transverse vertical section taken 5 on the line 6 6 of Figure 'Ihe drawings show a railway truck axle I, having its journal portion 2 located within a journal box 3 of ordinary form, which also encloses the bearing brass 4 and wedge 5. Located 10 beneath the journal is a lubricant pump, in general indicated at 6, and operated through a crank 'l engaging the end of the journal. Lateral motion of the journal relative to the journal box causes crank 'I to oscillate and the pump piston to reciprocate, forcing lubricant from the bottom of the cellar upwardly through delivery conduit 8. A pump of similar construction is described and claimed in Patent No. 1,948,297, issued to the present applicant.v

Lubricant is applied to the journal by means of distributor device comprising a concave pan I0 having a central apertured boss I I receiving the upper portion of conduit 8. Boss II terminates at the top in a collar I 4 on the upper surface of pan I0. The distributor is maintained in engagement with the journal by a coil spring 9 seated against the bottom of pan I0 and a shoulder 8a near the bottom of conduit 8. Boss Il and conduit 8 have opposing shoulders II and I2 preventing disassembly of the distributor and conduit under the thrust of spring 9.

At each end of the distributor pan is a flange l5 for engaging the journal-to close the ends of the pan when applied thereto. Extending transversely of the pan and throughout substantially the entire upper surface thereof is a series of sharp, shallow grooves I6 separated by inverted V-shaped ridges Il extending from side to side of pan ill. Projecting longitudinally in opposite directions from delivery collar I4 are grooves I8 which communicate with all of the transverse grooves I6.

The end ribs I5, inverted V-shaped ridges I1, and distributor collar I 4 all project the same distance radially from pan I0 to conform with the journal contour. The distributor is preferably formed of brass or other relatively soft material so as to be readily worn to the surface of the journal.

Oil delivered by pump 6 through conduit 8 lls the apertured boss II and then overflows through recesses Ida in the collar I4, into longitudinal grooves I8, and transverse grooves I6 and is thence applied to the journal rst at the bottom and then upwardly along the distributor as oil is forced to the ends of the grooves I 6. Lubricant is prevented from returning to the pump cylinder by means of ball check I9. After having been in service a short while, the ridges I1 will be slightly flattened on top and will closely contact with the surface of the journal. Thus substantial portions of the distributor engage the journal and wear in the distributor is reduced to a minimum. Oil is applied to the journal substantially throughout the extent of the distributor. The grooves I6, however, are relatively shallow and substantially less lubricant is re-V quired toll the distributor than would be necessary if the ridges l1 were omitted.

At the sides of the delivery-collar I 4 are a pair of recesses or chambers 20 which may be conveniently packed with absorbent material, such as yarn, soaked in sh oil, cr a similar substance, which emits a distinctive odor when heated above the normal running temperature of the journal so as to indicate improper functioning ofthe lubricator. Chambers 2Q and the absorbent packing therein may be omitted and the distributor will function efciently without the use of any absorbent material.`

The substantial number of shallow, closely associated grooves occupying the space between the inverted V-shaped ridges insures desirable bath lubrication and proper distribution of the lubricant with the use of a minimum of oil. The distributor is Yadapted to wear to the shape of, and function properly when applied to, old and irregular or renished journals which vary substantially in shape or size from new journals. The distributor comprises only metal parts and is not .affected by heat, moisture, dust, or deposits from the oil as is sometimes characteristic of distributors relying upon felt, cotton waste, fibre, etc. to bring the oil to the surface of the journal.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a modified distributor including most of the features present in the distributor described above but differing therefrom substantially in its contour and comprising a relatively wide central portion 23 and relatively narrow end portions 24. Parallel ribs 25 extend substantially from side to side of central portion 23 and serve as baffles to retain lubricant discharged through the central boss 26 to a relatively narrow and restricted stream until its level rises so that lubricant is applied to the central part of the journal. Thereafter lubricant will flow around the ends of ribs 25 and through longitudinal grooves 21 and the transverse grooves 28 between ridges 29.

This construction reduces the likelihood of oil escaping at the ends of the distributor if the contact between the journal and some of the ribs 28 or the heavier ribs 30 should not be perfect when the device is first applied to the journal. Also this construction decreases the quantity of oil neces-` sary to be delivered by the pump to the distributor before oil is brought into contact with the journal. Obviously ribs 25 may be made slightly higher than the remaining ribs so as to insure their functioning as described, in which case the ribs will necessarily wear down somewhat before the edges of ribs 28 contact with the journal.

-It will be understood the distributor shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6 is mounted on the pump similar to that illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, and that the distributor may include auxiliary pockets for containing warning packing as indicated at 2U in Figures 2 and 3.

The contour of the distributor and the disposition of the grooves and ridges may be varied substantially from the arrangement shown and other changes in the device may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of all such modications coming within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

I claim:

l. A lubricant distributor device for application to a cylindrical journal, comprising an arcuate pan-like body including a central portion of substantial width and side portions of restricted width, said central portion being bounded at front and rear by upstanding ribs the edges of which are' shaped to conform to the contour of the journal to which the device is applied, said side portions having spaced ridges substantially paralleling said ribs, there-being a longitudinal groove cutting said ridges and the adjacent rib' of said central portionand leading from the bottom of said central portion to the bottoms of the recessesv between said ridges, and baffling ribs in said central portion extending continuously across the middle portion thereof and substantially paralleling said ribs but terminating short of the ends thereof.

2. A lubricant distributor device for application to a cylindrical journal comprising an arcuate pan-like body including a part having a lubricant inlet and a portion spaced a substantial distance from said part, said part having upstanding ribs at opposite sides of said inlet, the edges of which ribs are shaped to t against the journal to which the device is applied and said; portion having spaced ridges substantially paralleling said ribs, there being a longitudinal groove cutting said ridges and the adjacent rib of said part and leading from the bottom of the central portion of said part to the bottoms of the re-:

cesses between said ridges, and a baffling rib in said part extending across the middle portion thereof and substantially paralleling said ribs but terminating short of the ends thereof.

3. Alubricant distributor device for railway vehicle journals comprising an arcuate pan-like body shaped to correspond to the surface of the journal to which the device is applied and including a central portion having an inlet for lubricant and upstanding ridges at opposite sides 'thereof and close thereto for engaging the surface of the journal and extending a substantial distance above the lower periphery thereof to form a restricted pool of lubricant and thereby providing a supply of lubricant to the adjacent.

portion of the journal when there is a relatively small quantity of lubricant present in said body, said ridges terminating short of the sides of the body so that the lubricant when it reaches a higher level may flow around the edges of said' ridges to the remainder ofthe body spaced from said central inlet and ridges.

JAS. J HENNESSY- 

